Post by Travis on Jun 10, 2015 10:24:24 GMT -8
Hi everyone. As this is a new forum I am still figuring out all the details and formatting the forum to fit our needs....
One of the larger discussions I would like to have with members is related to the format here - do we want this forum to be private, public, or a mixture of both?
I think each option has its benefits.... Public forums let in more members and allow for a larger scope of discussion. We can talk more and maybe have a bit more fun with more diversity and input as well as larger post volume. They also make this information more available for others to find and benefit from. Private discussion could still be done through PM (private messages sent between members).
Private forums offer more security and transparency in discussion - you dont have to worry about random snoopers reading any posts, as all posts would be private and only seen by members. This requires a screening process for all new members and may limit the number of members we get which in turn limits the number of posts shared on the forum.
A mix of the two would involve creating a public section open to all, and then a private section opened only to "full members". Each member would start as a "new member" only allowed to read and post in the new member section, and once they posted enough would the full members be able to vote them up to full membership. Full membership could also be offered to new members who have another full member who knows them vouch for them. This method kinda unites the best of both worlds, but is a lot more work, and also might spread out our conversations between the public and private forum - might be hard with a smaller forum, though I have seen this work well on larger popular forums.
Please discuss this here, and as discussion continues, maybe we will shift the format of the forum at some point.... Right now the forum is public, although I have it set so that none of our pages will show up in search engines.
One of the larger discussions I would like to have with members is related to the format here - do we want this forum to be private, public, or a mixture of both?
I think each option has its benefits.... Public forums let in more members and allow for a larger scope of discussion. We can talk more and maybe have a bit more fun with more diversity and input as well as larger post volume. They also make this information more available for others to find and benefit from. Private discussion could still be done through PM (private messages sent between members).
Private forums offer more security and transparency in discussion - you dont have to worry about random snoopers reading any posts, as all posts would be private and only seen by members. This requires a screening process for all new members and may limit the number of members we get which in turn limits the number of posts shared on the forum.
A mix of the two would involve creating a public section open to all, and then a private section opened only to "full members". Each member would start as a "new member" only allowed to read and post in the new member section, and once they posted enough would the full members be able to vote them up to full membership. Full membership could also be offered to new members who have another full member who knows them vouch for them. This method kinda unites the best of both worlds, but is a lot more work, and also might spread out our conversations between the public and private forum - might be hard with a smaller forum, though I have seen this work well on larger popular forums.
Please discuss this here, and as discussion continues, maybe we will shift the format of the forum at some point.... Right now the forum is public, although I have it set so that none of our pages will show up in search engines.